Be Human
by Hasty
Summary: The NSA's not the only group looking for the pair. As Zee's plan progresses, Katherine Kane (the former Batwoman), Bucky Buenaventura and Tiffany Morgan start their own searches, and Lee begins to realize that there's something strange about the Grayson Agency.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: This takes place after the events of the Zeta Project. So, Ro is 17, Casey's 23, and Terry and Max are seniors in high school. It crosses over with Ghost in the Shell and (vaguely) with the greater D.C Universe. No main characters of GITS will be mentioned, but the tech and some of the events will. There will be some romance later on. (You have been warned.) All right, on with the show. Soundtrack: Rocky wa Doko.**

Agent James Bennett tried to stretch in the uncomfortable chair. He hated waiting rooms. Hospitals weren't that bad; after they dug the bullets out, it was all over bar the shouting. Waiting rooms just existed to suck life and time away. A doctor came out. He knew immediately from her expression that it wasn't good news.

"I am very sorry, sir," she said. "Dr. Selig passed away during the night. He didn't have much of a chance. Given his injuries and his age, it would've taken a miracle to heal him."

"Did anyone come to the hospital with him?"  
"Yes, a young man and a girl. She was burned too, and I think she's still in the hospital."

The doctor showed them to the room, but was unnerved when the only thing left there was a batarang and a note. West turned white. Lee bit her lip. She'd expected something like this, but it was still a shock.

Bennett examined the note.

"Rosalie Rowan no longer exists," he read. "Well, that's just fucking great."

Batman had either kidnapped her or stolen her body. Rowan had been a thorn in their side, but he was worried anyway. Zeta was long gone, and they didn't have any way to predict where he'd go now- or what he'd do. If Rowan had died, Zeta's resolution not to kill might not last very long.

"What now, sir?" West asked, as Eastman jogged up to them.

"We go back to Washington to face the music," Bennett said bitterly. "Sorry, Lee shouldn't have dragged you along."

"Sir, I _asked _to be reassigned. It's no one's fault but mine."

She cast a last regretful glance back. She'd hoped that she could protect Ro, but in the confusion of the fire, she'd lost track of the girl. A fatal mistake, she thought and grimaced at the pun.

00

Casey Rowan knew that he was on the path to his dream job. But for the past week, he'd felt hollow. He knew why; his little sister was dead.

He wondered if Shakespeare's Juliet had had any brothers, and if they'd hated Romeo. Ro's fate was worse than Juliet's- Zee couldn't love her back, after all. The depression was only accentuated by the early hours he kept. His co-workers had remarked that he looked like an Irish ghost; green eyes, red hair and pale as a sheet.

He walked into the station, wondering why his coworkers were milling around.

"What is it?" one of his coworkers asked.

"I dunno, looks like gibberish to me. God, there's nothing worse than hackers," the station manager, Katrina Pierce muttered.

"Terrorists?" Patrick Schwartz, the morning anchor, asked.

"Nah. Terrorists usually have some sort of agenda. This is just a nonsensical message about a sick bulldozer," Olivia Sebastian said. She was the meteorologist.

Casey shoved his way to the front. All the computers and the weather screen displayed the same message.

It read: bulldozer recovering, prog good. Tin man.

Casey smiled. The code words were enough to confirm his hunch.

"I think I know how to make the message go away," he said. "Can I borrow your laptop, ?"

"Go nuts," she said.

He typed in, this is Casey. Can I see her?"

The reply was surprisingly quick: 'not yet. will call soon.'

Where are you? Casey typed.

'safe with friends. knight/rook/bishop.'

Casey frowned at the screen.

Zee's designations were apparently random; he always referred to himself as 'Tin Man,' Ro was usually 'Dorothy,' and Batman was the 'knight.' There was some internal logic, he was sure, but he'd never figured it out.

He typed, 'are you with her?'

'of course. shouldn't stay.'

'Let me know when I can contact her.'

'yes.'

'And don't be so hard on yourself. Take care of her for me.'

'Goodbye, Caulfield,' the screen read, and everything blanked.

Casey chuckled as the screens came back to life. He was glad Ro was safe. Anything was better than dead. Still...why hadn't he heard from them until now? Where were they?

00

The team had parted ways in Washington; of the team leaders, only West and Eastman had been retained. They were young and could put the embarrassment behind them. Bennett, last she'd heard, had a position at the Smithsonian. Two weeks had gone by in a blur.

She'd been hired by a Bludhaven detective agency. Richard Grayson, who was the head of the agency, had some amazing sources; she'd barely been unemployed twenty-four hours before she was hired. She hadn't even applied to the job. And it came with an apartment in the least bad part of town. Someone must've pulled strings for her, but she didn't know who.

As usual, when she came home, she locked the doors, turned on the holovision and her computer and started cooking. When she was halfway through dinner, the computer chirruped. She'd never heard it make that sound before, so she immediately took a look. Lines of binary crossed the screen and then formed into words.

'i think, therefore am..finally understanding this, yes/no/maybe..'

'input improved, coherence not..is a lee? yes/no/maybe.'

Just for kicks she typed in, Yes, Lee.

'm lee? yes/no. spending too much time here..'

She typed 'yes' again.

'r alive.. hurt..too much, shouldn't let get hurt..'

She blinked. Ah. Zee was completely plugged into the system and was having some difficulty filtering his thoughts. She felt dirty.

She typed in 'likely to recover?' yes/no.'

' pain now, mostly sleep..failure.'

Lee breathed a sigh of relief. Ro was alive, though she clearly hadn't escaped without injury.

'Location?' she typed in.

'not stupid.' the computer informed her.'with friends.'

She deserved that. Of course Zee wouldn't tell her where they were. He was extraordinarily protective of Ro, especially when she was sick or injured. Lee wouldn't call it love, but it was something a lot like it.

"What now?" she typed in.

'wait for r..restrictions.. read more/want more/ tin man wants heart.'

She understood the first part- Zee planned to wait for Ro to recover. The other fragments didn't make much sense, except that he felt or was, somewhat restricted right now. And was that a reference to the Wizard of Oz?

'be human, override all.. will go. Goodbye, Lee."

00

Zee disconnected from the net, retracting his cable from the laptop. Max had recently upgraded and let him have her old laptop. He'd spent five days tinkering with it to make it match his needs.

Luckily, he had nothing but time. Working on (and in) the net kept him from missing Eli or worrying about Ro. Speaking of...he glanced guiltily at the bed in the little room.

Ro was still healing; the burns were gradually fading, under Wayne's doctor friend's care, but the scars would remain. Zee suspected that Wayne was giving her some home-brewed stuff on the side, since she was recovering very rapidly.

Zee consulted his inner clock. Three a.m. He scanned the house. Terry was in the East Wing, Max was in a nearby bedroom, and both were dead to the world. However, one resident was still awake.

Wayne had, hopefully managed to regain his temper after the massive argument at dinner. Ro and Terry hadn't appreciated having their future planned out, and Max had nearly gotten kicked out of the manor.

Terry hadn't planned on going to college or getting a business degree. Ro was annoyed to find that her new identity was sixteen, not seventeen. She was also sulking about having to go to school. The only thing she and Terry agreed on was that Wayne was nuts for expecting them to work together. Ro thought Terry was an arrogant twip and Terry thought she was an out-of-control brat.

Max just wanted to use the Batgirl suit, and lost her temper when she found out that Wayne didn't want her on the streets. Wayne had worn all three teens down, eventually. Zee'd decided to wait to discuss his plan until everyone calmed down and Ro was off the pain killers.

Wayne was reading in the library. He closed the book he was reading as Zee approached. Ace sat by Wayne's feet and growled. Zee laced his hands behind his back and waited for Wayne to acknowledge him. (Old programming died hard.)

Not for the first time, Wayne wondered why Zee chose that look; he often mistook Zee for Terry. They both had black hair, light eyes and fair skin.

"What is it, Zeta?"

"I have had an idea. Do you know anything about cybernetics?"

Wayne shook his head. "To be honest, it wasn't a field that interested me. I used some of the research on external augments, but I only barely understood the basics."

"It occurred to me that the NSA might be satisfied by recovering my body. I could transfer into a prosthetic body and leave the shell for them. I've done some research, but I don't know of anyone who'd be able to help me."

"There is someone who might be willing. He was a friend of Richard's, not mine, but I'll contact him. Is the NSA your only reason for considering that course?"

"Why?" Zee asked, honestly puzzled.

"You care for Rosalie, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but why are you changing the subject?"

"I didn't think I was."

"I care for Max, and Terry and Dr. Selig, too... and you."

Wayne smiled slightly. "I keep forgetting you've only lived three years."

"Technically speaking, I have never 'lived' at all."

Wayne shrugged. He wasn't interested in a debate over semantics.

"I am surprised though. I'd thought you'd make use of me, rather than Ro."

"Batman has never been anything but human. I don't plan to change that. Rosalie is free to refuse, but I don't think she will."

Zee considered it. "You're right, but Terry's also right. It's very risky."

"Compared to what she's been doing for the last couple of years? If Rosalie valued her safety, she'd have left you a long time ago. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask...what do you want to do now."

"I have never thought about it," Zee said. "All that mattered was finding Selig. I had no plans beyond that. I suppose... if I could I'd like to work in the medical field."

He squashed down a quick mental image of a mini-Ro, all blonde hair and bright blue eyes, on a bike with training wheels. He had to run that anti-virus software again; he'd been feeling quite odd for the last few weeks. Considering all the time he'd spent hooked up to the mainframe, the odds of some bug corrupting his processors was quite high.

"You want to be a doctor?" Wayne asked.

"No. Med-tech. I recognize my limits."

"There's not much demand for medtech among the civilian population- at least, not in the States. But I'm sure you'll manage. Anything else?"

He'd suggested that Zee leave the country once. Zee's refusal had been emphatic.

"Is it normal to hurt without having a physical cause for the pain?" Zee asked.

"That's sympathy or heartache," Wayne said. He almost felt sorry for Zee sometimes.

"I don't think it's supposed to be in my software."

"Good luck finding an anti-viral program for that."

"It is odd," Zee mused. "I always knew that I should leave Ro behind; simple logic dictated that she'd be better off with her adoptive family, with Casey or with you. Instead, I kept her with me, and she kept getting hurt."

"Rosalie did have options, but she chose to stay with you," Wayne pointed out. "If she'd wanted to, she could have walked away. I meant every word of that offer I made."

"But the NSA..."

"They were only after her because of you. If she'd left, they would've stopped pursuing her."

"I see. It still doesn't make sense," Zee said.

"As a rule, humans don't," Wayne replied, yawning. "I'm going to bed. Help yourself to the library. Ace, come on."

Ace gave one last growl and followed Wayne out.

**To be continued.. Reviews and helpful feedback are welcome.**


	2. I analyze

**I don't own the characters, WB and DC do. Please note this takes place a month after the previous chapter. Also, I'm using bits of comic verse canon and 'toon verse canon because I can. Watchers of Teen Titans may recognize someone in here. Soundtrack: Born Stubborn from GITS: Solid State Society.**

People could be amazingly stupid sometimes. For instance, robbing a jewelry store (especially in Gotham) was usually not a good idea. Robbing a jewelry store in front of a seven-story building with nice nubby bits on the roof, in a city with a superhero known for his acrophilia? That crossed the line into 'asking to be caught.' Batgirl was, of course, going to help the poor man.

She braced her hands on the ledge and pushed off, somersaulting in the air.

_Kick out...one two three-now! Quick glide..._

The perp had heard her land, but he wasn't quick enough. The second she landed, she kicked out, becoming visible, sweeping his foot out from under him. He landed heavily, and the wrench he carried landed in the street. She tied him up and then saw the little bag he'd come away with.

"Leave it," Batman said, landing beside them. He checked the ties on their prisoner. "Okay, let's jet. Cops are on their way, and we've got a long night ahead."

The man lay there, stunned as the sirens began to wail. There'd been two Bats.

"Turn your camo on!"The Batman snapped.

"Jeez, cool your jets..." his companion complained.

00

"Slow night?" Wayne asked as the Bat car popped open. Terry slid out, followed by Ro.

"Boss, I need a raise," Terry complained. "She's out of control."

"What are you talking about?" Ro said, "I kicked butt out there."

"Freezing that last guy was overkill," Terry grumbled. "Commissioner Gordon's going to hear about it, and then she's going to go nuclear."

"Hey, I've heard about your stunts, so don't pick on me. And you made me leave my rent behind."

"..What? Ro, those were _stolen goods._"

She shrugged. "Tomato, tomahto. I'm not stupid. It was nice of you and Wayne to help us out, but nothing's free, right?"

"Go get some sleep," Terry said. "You start school tomorrow."

She stomped off to the 'changing room,' got into her clothes and headed upstairs.

"If you don't hurry, I'll use _all _the hot water," she called cheerfully.

"And you want to unleash _that_ on Gotham," Terry muttered.

"You're no angel either," Wayne pointed out.

"Wayne, she's going to get killed out there. She spent most of the last month doped on pain pills, she's reckless, and she'll steal anything that isn't nailed down."

"Just be patient with her, Terry. Rosalie has her flaws, but so do you. On that note, don't you have a paper to write?"

"I'm gone. If Mad Stan shows up, make sure Ro doesn't get there first."

00

The problem with strays, as Selina had once said, is that they have kittens. In this case, Wayne reflected gloomily, the 'kittens' had multiplied at an alarming rate. First, there was Max, who'd moved in about six months ago. He'd evicted her four times, but he'd finally given up.

Then Zee and Ro blew in. He'd originally intended to let Terry clean up his own mess, but his old weakness for hard cases kicked in. As a result, he was sitting in the principal's office at Hamilton Hill High, waiting for the sophomore class representative to show up. Someone needed to act as Ro's parent, and God help them both, it looked like he'd been selected for the job.

"Remind me how this is supposed to work?" Ro hissed, smoothing her skirt nervously. She was wearing a calf-length green skirt and a high cut long sleeved blouse. She thought she looked ridiculous- especially with the hair extensions and the gloves. She had bright red hair now, and the disguise worked well enough to fool Casey.

"I got the idea from Poe's Purloined Letter. Have you ever read it?"

"Nope."

"Consider it assigned. After you've read it, you should be able to understand the plan."

"Didn't Zee do a stint as a teacher here?"

"Yes, but Maxine and Terry have informed me that he wasn't very good at it. Can I see your schedule?"

Ro passed the tablet over. Wayne scrolled through it and handed it back. He was a little surprised that she'd been placed in advanced robotics. She'd probably picked up a lot just by being around Zee.

A slightly built young woman breezed in. She was shorter than Ro, dressed in jeans and a cowboy hat, and her long black hair trailed behind her.

"Sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly. "Roxanne Kane, right? I'm Soledad Garcia. And this is...your grandfather?"

The Kane name was another shield. The Kanes had been nearly as rich and powerful as the Waynes.

"I'm her guardian," Wayne said. "Nice to meet you, Miss Garcia. Roxanne, have a good day."

00

Victor Stone sorted out his messages, idly rubbing his prosthetic eye. He'd been on a business trip touring Asian facilities, and had a much-needed tune-up done before coming back to the States. He was now attempting to clear out his message box, and dreading each new message he found. Last March, he'd made the mistake of answering a message- leading to a fun-filled week of magic, explosions, gunfire, and a totally justified hatred of Ian Fleming.

"Stone, this is Bruce Wayne. Would you be willing to come up to Gotham for a while? It's a delicate matter, so I'd prefer that we hammer things out in person. Of course, this will be compensated."

He knew he was probably going to regret this, but he picked up the 'phone anyway. Bruce Wayne was an unlikely customer for Antaeus Clinic's services. He had offered to fix up Bruce's heart long ago, and the refusal had left his ears stinging for days.

"Bruce Wayne, please," he said and waited for the connection to cut in.

Wayne smiled cadaverously. "That was quick. You just got in from Singapore yesterday, didn't you?"

"Wayne, my message board could be seen from space. That usually means something big and ugly's hit the fan."

"Heard about Erie yet?"

"Yeah, Gar told me."

That had been ugly. The NSA had been trying to destroy the synthoids, while half of the League tried to contain them. In the end, some of the synthoids got away, though the League had vaporized dozens of them, and the NSA had to go home and nurse their bruises.

He'd wondered what Batman, Raven and Warhawk had been up to; he'd looked up footage of the fight and noticed that they'd sneaked off during the confusion. It took something pretty dramatic to shake Raven up.

"Eli Selig's son is staying with me. He has a lot of enemies right now. We need your help, Stone. I'd be more specific, but not over an open line."

A little worm of suspicion began to gnaw at Stone. His lines were more secure than Langley.

"Give me a week to clear up my backlog. I'll fly myself in."

"That should give me enough time to make arrangements on my end as well. Do you want me to send McGinnis to pick you up from the airport, or should I let you find your own way?"

"Who's McGinnis?"

"He's my assistant. A gofer, as he puts it."

"Better send the kid; I haven't been in Gotham for ages."

He disconnected. Eli Selig's son, huh? He'd only met the man a couple of times, since their fields were very different, but he knew, through the grapevine, that Selig's daughter had died in a car crash twenty years ago. He hadn't had any other children, and the daughter had been seventeen. Stone grinned as the light dawned.

Just like the old days; a Bat had come up with a hideously complicated plan that was going to cheese off anyone possessing a badge within a hundred-mile radius. He'd have to be a raving lunatic to go along with it. He snickered. No one had ever accused him of being sane.

00

Zee consulted his inner clock. He reluctantly left the cliffs and headed back to the mansion. The mansion and grounds made a spacious jail- but they were still a jail, even if he'd given his parole freely. At least Wayne left his mind alone. There was sun today, unusual for Gotham. The hologram flickered back around him as he walked; black hair, grey eyes, long purple coat, white shirt and black pants.

The most excitement he had these days was playing the stock market. He'd never gotten rid of that factory he bought in Gotham and had a tidy little income from it which he used to buy stocks. He had a few other pieces of property, owned by bogus identities. No one had yet noticed that 'Isaiah Selig' and 'Miranda Nielsen' only existed online.

He'd made it inside before he heard Max's car coming. He heard the thump of their book bags- Max always got herself a snack, while Ro usually went to Wayne's library first. He knew he had to talk to her, but he was strangely reluctant to do so.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Wayne gave me homework- before the school day even started. Jerk. I think I made a friend, even if she's a bit strange. Her name's Sully Garcia and she's a scream. You'd like her, Zee, she's really smart. The only bad thing was that this senior got in my face at lunch."

She threw herself down on the couch.

"Did you tell Terry?"

"No, I just threatened to rearrange Nash's face if he asked me out again. I got over my 'big and dumb' phase in middle school. What did you do?"

"I spent most of the morning updating the security systems here. Wayne still won't let me secure the chimney or the den. Then I took a walk on the cliffs."

Ro chuckled. Wayne and Zee often sparred over the security upgrades, and Zee wouldn't give up his belief that Santa worked for Interpol.

"What was the 'homework?'" he asked, changing the subject. Anything to stall..

"Wayne wants me to read a story called the Purloined Letter."

"Poe. I wouldn't have thought of that application."

"Zee is something bothering you?" she asked.

"I've come to the conclusion that the NSA will never believe me now, even after Selig's message. So, I've decided to make my own arrangements."

"You're going to just give up?" she asked. "After all we went through?"

"No. There's a way. I've been doing a lot of research on cybernetics lately. Prosthetic bodies are expensive, but Wayne knows a man who specializes in transplants. He'll be coming to Gotham soon."

"Wait, wait, what you mean a 'transplant?"

"Basically, the chips that make up my brain would be put in the new body, and the old one would be sent to Bennett."

"And what happens if Bennett puts another set of chips in?"

"Max and I have been working on that."

"And if the transfer goes wrong somehow?"

"Ro, there's an 80% chance of it working..."

She glared at him and tapped a foot.

"15% chance of being absorbed into the net, 5% chance of total deletion."

"Any chance I can talk you out of it, Tin Man?"

"None. Stone can probably explain the mechanics better than I can- it's his field after all."

She turned on her heel and walked away. "I'll be in the cave for a while. Send Max if you need me topside."

Zee decided that he needed to talk to Max. There was a point where that conversation had gone wrong, but he couldn't figure out why Ro was so upset. Shouldn't she be glad to be free to lead her own life?

00

"So, what did he do now?" Terry asked Ro, from their perch on an old theater.

"He says he wants a prosthetic body and he'll ship the old one to the NSA," Ro said, fuming. "Did you put him up to this?"

Even several rounds with the punching bag hadn't made her bad mood go away. It might not matter to him if he got deleted, but she'd miss him.

"No," Terry said. "I know he's been doing a lot of research on cybernetics lately. That's probably where he got the idea."

"Hey, boss, why didn't you say anything?" Ro asked through the comlink.

"Not my place," Wayne said drily. "I did contact a friend that works in the field, but only after Zeta asked me to. I wasn't aware he had to run it by you. On that note, you two should come in; looks like a fairly quiet night."

"Too bad. I was hoping for a fight," Ro said wistfully.

"How about a friendly match when we get back to the cave?" Terry suggested.

Ro grinned. "Sounds fun."

00

"Is it just me or is Zee acting odd lately?" Terry asked Max. "Well, odder than normal."

Max yawned and turned in the passenger seat. She'd hitched a ride, since her parents were due back in Gotham. It was easier to pretend that she was still living at home than tell the truth.

"I dunno...he's a lot harder to read, but he seems more settled now."

"I guess you heard about his plan."

"Yeah."

"And?"

"It could work. If he's willing to take the chance, I'll help as much as I can."

Terry sighed. "Can't you talk him...no, never mind. If Selig weren't dead, I'd hunt him down and shake him. Why did he have to make Zee so stubborn?"

"I think Bennett and Ro have more influence on Zee then Selig ever did," Max said seriously.

00

Zee booted up the laptop, frowning as the sound of sirens flickered across his hearing. He hated being relegated to the sidelines while his friends risked their lives. They were safe for tonight, but sooner or later their luck might run out.

He quickly found the backdoor to the mainframe, and then hacked into the NSA's website. When had Bennett been fired? Lee would probably have mentioned it, if he'd kept 'talking' to her longer. There was a slim possibility that she might figure out his location, so he'd kept the chats brief.

He'd never had any animosity toward Bennett or the other agents. Until his first solo mission, Zee had been Bennett's officially assigned shadow. He'd come to admire his handler. But Bennett saw him only as a tool, and nothing Zee said or did could change that perception.

Lee was nice; occasionally she'd loan him books on missions, and in the pursuit, she'd even let him get a head start a few times. West was useful as a distraction, and Eastman, like Bennett, was a good opponent. Her only weakness was a tendency to think in straight lines.

Louisa Ruiz, Bennett's replacement, had an impressive record. Zee would have to keep an eye on her. He quickly laid down some virtual trails to keep her and her team busy. They could wear themselves out chasing phantoms while he worked toward his goal.

Zee was tempted to insert a virus that would 'nuke' the NSA's 'net, but he thought better and inserted a small bug that would rewrite the language software instead. Any time someone searched for 'Atlanta,' 'Gotham,' 'Spring City,' 'Baltimore' or 'St. Paul,' the NSA's computers would switch from English to one of eight languages.

Just to be obnoxious, he also added a bit of code that would make virtual cockroaches scurry across the screen when the word processing software was used. The programs would eventually be found and neutralized, but any second the NSA lost was another second of freedom. Then he rerouted his trail. He hoped Agent Ruiz had fun in Idaho.

He wasn't going to run anymore. He had the high ground, the weapons and the will to fight. He'd surrender, eventually, but only on his terms. As a final courtesy, he'd make sure Bennett was the one to bring him in.

**Another note: one impression I got from the show is that Zee really looks up to Bennett, and part of him regrets that they ended up as enemies. However, Bennett doesn't feel the same. Your mileage may vary. Reviews?**


	3. I verify

**Hello, once again. Blood appears in Golden Dawn, Jo is the only thing here of my own creation. Soundtrack: Blues in the Net. **

The factory door whooshed open, letting in a watery beam of sunlight and illuminating the place. The chips whirred on down the conveyer belt, undisturbed.

Ro pocketed the card key and grinned. "Home sweet...factory."

"How do I get one of those?" Terry asked.

She waved the key card. Zeta had made it as a Christmas present.

"Oh, this baby opens any door that needs a card key."

Even if she didn't have the keycard, Zee owned the whole factory.

"Schway. You really want to use this place? The NSA knows about it."

"Yeah, but they have no idea where I am, and they're probably too busy to go anywhere for a while," Ro said.

"Good points. We should still rig up a few traps just in case."

"Yeah. I'll check out the watchman's area."

She headed up the rickety, creaky stairs into the small alcove. It held a small sleeping mat, a sleeping bag and a chair. Probably hadn't been straightened up since Max's involuntary tenancy.

"Pretty bare-bones," she mused. "So, we'll use the room in the theater as a back-up Batcave, and this'll be my back-up. At least we know that we can lose a tail before we get that far; we lost them by the second stop."

"Sure you don't want to use Dad's place for a back-up cave?" Terry asked.

"I'm sure. Remember, Wayne has two older kids, so either of them could end up getting the mansion. Then we won't be able to use the cave anymore. We should each have a different safe house anyway."

"You're assuming that Tim and Dick _want _to come back to Gotham. From what I've seen, they plan to keep a lot of distance between themselves and Bruce."

"Ah, family issues..."

"More like lifetime subscriptions," Terry muttered. "I can't believe I spent a Saturday morning playing hide and seek."

The tail had been another trainee, under Jason Blood's tutelage. Jo was probably the world's most reluctant sorceress; she'd wanted to be a spy instead. Hopefully she'd be someone else's problem soon.

"Look on the bright side, McGinnis," Ro said, grinning. "If we shake a leg, you can have all afternoon to suck face with your girlfriend."

"'Suck face?' What are you, twelve?"

00

Dana burst out laughing. Max snuck a look and bit her lip, fighting laughter herself. They'd arranged to meet at the local Ground Wire.

"What's so funny?" Terry demanded.

"Where did you get that shirt?" Dana asked. "It looks like something my dad would wear on vacation."

The shirt in question was pink with bright blue hibiscus flowers. Terry had tried to pick up something that was as far away from his normal attire as possible. Ro had changed her outfit too; she'd started out the day in a long sleeved blue blouse and a long black skirt with red flowers. Now she wore a dove-gray hoodie, blue jeans and a blue t-shirt.

"Part of the scavenger hunt," Ro explained. "Nice to meet you, Dana. I've heard so much about you from Terry."

Max tried to look innocent.

"Nice to meet you too, Roxanne," Dana said. "What do you think of Gotham?"

"I really haven't seen much of it," Ro replied, "I have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on, and Mr. Wayne keeps us so busy."

"Tell me about it,"Dana sighed. "I was considering filing a missing persons report on Terry last month."

"Come on, Roxie, I'll show you my favorite lunch spot," Max said. "Have fun, lovebirds."

00

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Ro sang through the radio. They were at the docks, watching a lot of men in dark suits and tattoos unloading something from a dark ship. The Tongs normally stuck to black-market medical items, but lately they'd switched to drugs. They'd also acquired some really scary decommissioned stuff.

"I think so," Terry said, playing along. "What are you pondering?"

Ro inclined her head toward the mechanical armored suit below. "Whether that thing has an ejection seat."

Terry grinned beneath the mask. "Good question. You wanna find out or shake answers out of the Tongs?"

"The suit," she replied.

Terry nodded. They jumped off the roof. Ro spiraled over the suit and dropped, landing on its back. She slid down, producing a charged batarang and driving it into the suit's chassis. By then, Terry had already dived into the crowd of Tongs, pinning the leader against a piling, and kicking, hitting and shoving anyone else who got in his way. A sudden alarming mechanical 'kchunk' sounded and the armor fell apart. Ro had been right. The upright gang members yelled and surged toward Terry, only to be felled one by one. Ro kicked backward, hitting someone's kneecap.

"Nice evening," Terry said to the leader. The man had a very intricate facial tattoo of a bird, flying across his face. He looked from one Bat to another, looking dismayed.

Terry had dealt with the leader before, although he knew him only as Rooster. By Terry's standards, he was one of the more pleasant members of Gotham's underworld-he was sane and honorable, which was more than could be said of just about every other criminal. It was refreshing to find someone who thought of crime as a business, not a vocation.

"It was until you and your girl showed up. She's new."

"Tell me about the Venom that's getting into the city," Terry snarled.

"Venom? Not us."

"Yeah?" Terry replied, indicating the ship with his thumb. "Then what's on the boat?"

"That stuff? Opoids, tranqs, stuff for frisky older men with pretty young wives. Medical supplies...nothing unusual."

He attempted to wave nonchalantly, and winced as a batarang dug in.

"What about that?" Terry said, indicating the mechanical armor.

"Eh, Big Boss insisted after August. Everyone's heard about the synth that took out that gang of Jokerz, and now word on the street says that the Justice League has a batch of 'em or that the Italians or the Russians got to them. Depends on who you ask. Not to mention that incident last spring- you ever get those kids deprogrammed?"

"None of your business," Terry said stiffly. Ro fidgeted, wanting to ask about the synthoids.

"_Cops are on their way, checking out an anonymous tip,"_ Wayne said.

"Come on, Batman, let's leave these guys to Gotham's finest," Ro said. She stifled a yawn.

_00_

"He won't be coming today," Zee said, from his armchair.

"Jeez, Zee, can you wear a bell or something," Ro snapped.

She'd thought he was still shut down; he disliked thunderstorms.

He'd spent most of last night and today reading medical journals. Wayne had suggested he read up on immune disorders. She'd gone grocery shopping with Max. They needed the food, and it was nice to do normal things. Zee gave her the puppy-dog look. She sighed. He must be going stir-crazy, trapped inside the mansion.

"Sorry. Stone had to delay by a day. Also, Bennett got fired," he said.

"That's good, right? Ding-dong, wizard's dead, Tin Man gets his heart?" Ro replied.

"No. I won't allow his replacement to find us. Luckily I have a bargaining chip."

"What?"

"Me. They have no idea where we are, and I have thoroughly undermined the NSA's network. While Eastman might figure out that I've been feeding false information into it, I doubt she will. Ruiz will be too busy hunting the groups she thinks we joined to notice that the network's been compromised."

The Oracle system had performed beyond his expectations. An untraceable, unhackable network was a powerful weapon.

"Good luck with that," Ro said. "Just make sure to run the plan by Wayne, so no one gets hurt while you pin the tail on the terrorists."

00

Casey Rowan had developed a new routine. Every Sunday night, he camped out by the phone. He was working on his laptop when it finally rang. He dove for it, praying he'd get it before she hung up.

"Casey Rowan speaking.."

Please let it be her, please let it be her. He only got to hear from her once a week.

"Hi bro!"

He remembered to breathe. "Hey, bulldozer. How's life?"

"Fine. Zee's been kinda sulky. He doesn't like rain, and he found out Bennett got fired. And one of Wayne's friends who could help him got his flight canceled cause of the storm. Wayne enrolled me in school, but I'm a sophomore, not a junior. I suppose it helps timing-wise, since I'm supposed to take over when Terry leaves for college."

"What school?"

"Sorry, classified. I do trust you, but your line's probably bugged."

"Oh, yeah, hadn't thought of that. But what's this job you're lined up for?"

"Uh..little bit of everything, really. Gofer, trainee assistant, head chef," she said. She wasn't ready to tell him about her real duties. He'd freak. "I'm live-in, Terry isn't, so I end up doing more work. But you really ought to see this place, bro."

"Tough luck about Bennett being fired," Casey said, changing the subject. "He came to break the news to me, about you being.."

_She was abducted from her hospital bed with several third-degree burns. I'm sorry, Mr. Rowan..but at this time, we can't be certain of her status. I'd suggest you prepare for the worst._

He blinked away the memory. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was wondering why you'd back Zee up on this. Bennett chased us for two years, and now you and Zee are acting like he's the victim."

"Cut Bennett a little slack, sis. He was only doing his job, and there's nothing wrong with the guy that a personality transplant and a good proctologist wouldn't fix."

"What's a proctologist?"

"It's a doctor who specializes in butts."

Ro grinned back. "Like removing the big stick stuck up Bennett's."

"Exactly."

"By the way, one of Wayne's friend is going to teach me to drive-well, officially. I should have my license in no time."

"Great," Casey said, with a forced smile. "I'm doing well here too; back to the grind at college, and the station hired me part-time."

"Glad to hear it, Case. Any cuties on the horizon?"

"Very funny, Ro. There is this one woman in communications..we had a date on Friday. I just hope she doesn't run for the hills if it gets serious and she finds what I've gotten involved in."

"What _I'm_ mixed up in, you mean."

"We're family. Your problems are my problems."

"Thanks bro."

They talked for a while longer, and then she hung up. Casey called up the phone's log and deleted it as per Batman's instructions. He wished they could talk more than once a week. He was still concerned about the people she was hanging out with.

Max, at least, seemed to have her feet on the ground. Terry seemed to be a male version of Ro-reckless, hot-tempered and prone to getting in over his head. Batman was a wild card, both a foe and an ally. (He tried not to think what little he knew about Batman matched a lot of what he'd been told about Terry.) Zee seemed more settled these days, although his attachment to Ro still worried Casey.

The mysterious Mr. Wayne sounded like the king of the species known as bastardus manipulativus. Casey still hadn't figured out what in the world Zee had on Wayne. It had to be huge, since no one would shelter a pair of fugitives just for laughs.

Casey had dozens of theories, each more ridiculous than the last. Wayne had a secret marijuana farm, or twelve wives, or an unhealthy interest in barely-legal young women..anything was possible. Again, he ignored the thought that Gotham now had a _Batgirl_,and that the tech she and Batman used probably ate a lot of creds. The economic crash in the tens and oughts had hurt Wayne a little, but he was nearly broke now. Perhaps his money had gone down a cave?

Casey'd give anything to visit Ro and make sure she was okay. Instead, he had to be a good decoy and stand pat. '_They also serve' huh?_ he thought._If I ever find out who invented that phrase, I'm going to make sure they never eat solid food again._

**_Author's note: The full saying is 'they also serve, who only stand and wait.' In our next chapter, Stone arrives, and we catch up with the NSA. Stay tuned, and if you'd be so kind, drop me a line._**


	4. I quantify

**Once again, no owny; except for Jo and Ruiz. The universe is DCs, Poseidon belongs to Masumune Shirow. Soundtrack: Remedium, GITS.**

Ro groaned as the sound of music drifted up to her. She tried to burrow deeper into the blankets, displaced her pillow, and groped for it. Her alarm started beeping, and she thrashed frantically, surfaced and turned the clock off. She yawned and looked around the room; still blue, with posters from bands and teams that had broken up or moved before she was born.

"_His hawk and his hounds and his lady-fair-oh.." _drifted through the mansion.

Time for her to go see what Zee had gotten into today. He'd stumbled onto Wayne's musical collection sometime ago, which meant the manor was now haunted by the ghosts of bad musical taste. At least it wasn't the mutilated farm animal/toys in a blender thing that had been inflicted on her and Max a couple of days ago. She was sure that it belonged to one of the boys. Speaking of, Stone was flying in today, wasn't he?

00

Max smiled as Ro came in. "How was it out there?"

Ro helped herself to Wayne's La Brea brew and groaned. "I had to take two showers just to feel clean. How many Clayfaces are there, anyway?"

"Six, at last count,"Wayne said.

"Each one crazier than the last, I bet," Ro muttered into her coffee. "What did you two do?"

"Virus scans," Max said.

"I think there must be something wrong with them," Zee said, looking up from his laptop. Ro sneaked a peek at the screen. A cross-section of an implant was rotating on the screen.

"Zee, we've gone through every anti-viral program I know. And you've scanned clean every time."

"That's the problem."

"What is that?" Ro asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I was looking at Stone's profile online, and this is one of the implants he has. It's called a 'bug-eye lens. Made by Poseidon."

"Umm..you're not seriously thinking of getting it, are you?" Ro asked.

Zee shook his head. "It would raise too many questions, and it has too many blind spots."

He dismissed that screen, and pulled up another one.

"Hey, Wayne, is the kitchen bombproof?" Max asked lightly, trying to look disinterested.

"Why in the world do you think I'd bombproof my kitchen?" Wayne replied.

"Because you're _you," _Max shot back. "There's a chance Dana's dad may not renovate their kitchen, so we need a back-up location before she'll let me take cooking lessons."

"You demolished three classrooms," Wayne pointed out. "And we can't have visitors for obvious reasons."

"I'll keep Dana away from the library-and Zee. For your information I haven't blown anything up since middle school."

"I'll think about it," Wayne said.

00

"So what, exactly, did you do in middle school?" Ro asked.

Max colored slightly. "I..mixed my chemistry experiment with my home ec assignment. I thought rocket fuel would make the pudding cook faster."

Ro snickered.

"Yeah. I know. I'm always impatient when I'm hungry, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. My pals _still_ don't trust me to not burn my house down. On the bright side- free food."

"So why the sudden interest in cooking?" Ro asked.

"It's not fair to make you and Terry do all the work," Max said. "What's your schedule like today?"

"Oxy therapy at four, extract Stone from the airport at five, and hopefully, dinner at six. Maybe seven."

"I can pick something up while I round up Jo. Wayne invited her over tonight."

"Is her teacher coming?"

"No, thank god. I've had all the weirdness I can take right now."

00

West threw down the scopes, glaring at the men and women who were marched past. They'd been members of an anti-government group in Idaho, which had been accumulating explosive material.

"They're all _people," _West said in disgust.

"Homo sapiens," Eastman corrected, toying with a glossy black braid. "Calling them people is going a little far."

"I think we've seen all we need to see," Louisa Ruiz said. "Let's head back to Boise, and talk with the Western office."

She was a small birdlike Hispanic woman, one of the NSA's top operatives. She and Bennett were the same age- in fact, they'd been friends, until an op in Star City got Ruiz's vehicle shot out from under her. Then Bennett had requistioned Eta, and she still hadn't forgiven him for that. She wore her black hair up, barretted sternly into place, and had a slight scar on her jawline. She frowned. Someone was trying to play her for a fool, and she didn't like it. Between the Zeta problem and the computer bugs, she was running out of patience.

00

"Do you know what Stone looks like?" Terry hissed at Ro. The two leaned against a wall, idly inspecting the passengers departing the airport.

"All Wayne said was that he was big," Ro said. "Though Zee mentioned he had an odd implant. Ah, I think I just found him."

She pointed at a big, burly man carrying a large duffel bag. He was looking around and grinning. One eye was white and glittered like a diamond, contrasting with his jet black face. He was totally bald- Ro wondered if that was by design. Even so, he looked young, forty instead of a little past fifty.

"Excuse me," Terry said. "Are you Victor Stone?"

The man looked startled for a second, but quickly recovered. He looked at Ro and shook his head as if to clear it.

"Yeah, I am. You are?"

"Terry McGinnis. I'm Wayne's assistant, and that is Roxanne Kane, his..cousin."

Stone's lip quirked a bit, as if he guessed something was up. "McGinnis, huh? Sure it isn't 'Grayson' or 'Drake?'"

Terry smiled uneasily. "Uh, yeah, pretty sure. If you'll just come with us."

"Is that all your luggage?" Ro asked.

"Yep. Man, Gotham is just the way I remember it. How's Bruce?"

Ro shrugged. "Alive. He keeps grumbling about the takeover."

"WaynePowers got taken over?"

"I think he meant the takeover of the house," Terry muttered.

"Yeah, sounds like him," Stone said. "I always thought he missed his calling; shoulda started a daycare instead."

00

After dinner and introductions, they all went down to the cave. Johanna Constantine walked beside Zee, so awed she had to be steadied a couple of times. Jo had light-brown hair, tied back in a braid, and had long limbs and a coltish gait. She had a long, angular face, and held herself like the lady her ancestress had been. She was already Ro's height, and not finished growing yet. She was English, but had been forced to go to the States for training after a spectacular incident last spring. Magic and technology did not mix well.

Wayne settled himself at the computer.

"Before we start, I'd just like to say something," Stone said. "Wayne, you are the most magnificently manipulative bastard I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. You're worse than Slade."

"Does that mean you won't help?" Zee asked plaintively.

"No, I just wanted to get that off my chest."

"We'll start with Miss Constantine. I need a code name," Wayne said, ignoring Stone's remark.

"What do you think of Nocturne, for a code name?" Johanna asked Ro.

"It sounds pretty, but what about 'Nighthawk'?"

"The Justice League already has a 'Nightwing, 'Warhawk,' and a 'Hawk," Terry said.

"And a 'Firehawk,'" Stone added.

"I thought she quit," Wayne said.

"She did, but her son applied for Titans membership using that ID."

"You got a costume yet?" Max asked Johanna.

"Not yet. I've got Grandpa's trenchcoat, and I'll probably go with gray and blue for my colors. I think I'll pass on the spandex."

"All right," Wayne said. A printer in the cave whirred to life. "Johanna, you're now Josephine March, staying in the states with your aunt, Zoe March. Your parents are divorced-father's in Saudi Arabia, a diplomat, and your mother's a school administrator in South Korea. The Titans have your application already. Congratulations, Nocturne."

"That shouldn't be so easy," Ro muttered.

"It's not. The English branch of the Justice League has instructions to lose any inquiries about her passport. Makes this a little easier- I just have to invent a reason for Jo to be in the states. But this is just a warmup exercise."

"A warmup exercise?" Terry asked.

Wayne smiled. "I used to do this all the time. We'd get people, every so often, who came here from the future, were from another dimension, or were built. Sometimes, my colleagues needed to spend a year or two being someone else. And whenever they needed an identity built from the ground up, I was the first person they called. Zeta, get over here."

"This is going to be so cool," Max hissed to Ro.

"Neeerd," Ro whispered, grinning.

Wayne keyed in a few commands.

He shot a glance at Zee. _As someday it may happen that a hero must be found.._ Batman had always served as a counterbalance to Superman, but Terry couldn't be effective without allies.

Both Ro and Zee had skills that would make them invaluable to the League. In terms of combat skills, Ro was on par with Barbara at her peak and was light-years ahead of her in the dirty-tricks department. Barbara would never have thought of ambushing an NSA agent in a resturant, or burglarizing Batman's glove department.

Zee excelled at surveillance, counter-surveillance, and information-gathering, skills that most of the youngsters in the League lacked. He was also immune to psychic and magical attacks. The metahumans needed to learn that not every fight could be settled with a display of their powers. Yes, it was just a Question of leverage; Montoya and Zee couldn't be manipulated directly. Luckily, Wayne made a habit of collecting levers.

"Now for the fun part. What would you like to be called?"

"Ezekiel Periplaneta Selig," Zee said, without hesitation.

"You're kidding, right?" Ro said.

"Try again," Wayne suggested. "Ezekiel's a bit..old fashioned."

Terry was apparently having a coughing fit.

"Isaiah?" Zee suggested, after a minute.

"Skip the Periplaneta," Terry suggested, recovering.

"Isaiah Arlen Selig," Wayne said. "'Arlen' means 'pledge.'"

"Yes, I think that would fit," Zee said, considering it.

"Good. Parents..hmm, that's going to be tricky."

"Mixed marriage?" Max suggested. "Selig's a Jewish name, isn't it?"

"Perfect, Maxine," Wayne replied. "Mother, Claudia Stephanie Brown, born in Bludhaven. Stone, did they ever get that mess there straightened out?"

"Funny thing, they never did. Same with the army's records. Remind me never to tangle with Static."

"Good. Both parents deceased, in case someone checks. Make sure you refer to them in the past tense, Zeta."

"I suddenly almost feel sorry for the NSA," Terry muttered.

"Don't be," Ro hissed.

"Father..Elliot Jason Selig."

"Close enough," Zee said. "Why not 'Elias?"

"Too obvious," Wayne said, keying in a few more commands. "Have you thought of a birthday yet?"

"The Ides of March?"

"Cute. Very cute. March 15th, 5 ounces, at..hm, 4 A.M. Homeschooled until age 15 because of immune defiencies caused by..oh, lupus. You're 18 now."

"Everything's lupus," Terry complained.

"He's right," Stone said. "I don't think I've ever had a lupus case. Most of the kids in the clean rooms had leukemia or another disorder that made straight-up transplants impossible."

"Oh, fine," Wayne grumbled. "A mitochondrial disorder then; sounds nice and scary and no one will bother to look it up. Zeta, you'll be responsible for getting your GED. Stone, can you make arrangements?"

"There are a couple of online schools- most of my patients use them. It'll be a breeze to get him enrolled. I'll ask Mia to do interfacing and proctoring. She's done covert work, so she won't pry."

Something beeped. Wayne checked it and cursed.

"Terry, suit up. The Dee-dees are trying to clean out a cred union again."

"What about me?" Ro asked.

"You're staying in," Wayne said. "Get some rest. Jo, you're not going either. Max, could you take her back to Blood's?"

"I'll show myself out," Jo said haughtily. "I've got to test out a transport spell."

Max breathed a sigh of relief. If he was having a good day, Jason Blood was terrifying. On a bad day, he could make the Joker seem benevolent. Devils had their own morality code.

"Come on Zeta, we should get to work too," Stone said, clapping him on the back.

"I've been looking at the optical prosthetics. What sorts of modifications are available for a civilian model?"

"What did you have in mind?" Stone asked, grinning.

"Specifically, infrared, and possibly the ultraviolet spectrum."

"I like your style, kid."

"Darn," Max said, as they ascended the stairs. "Just when we finally had enough people for poker."

Jo muttered a word and disappeared. Ro briefly wondered what it was like to have that sort of power.

"You would have lost anyway," Ro said. "Zee got invited to a back-room poker game, and ended up winning a Vegas wedding chapel and 60,000 creds."

"A wedding chapel?"

"The owner was a little light on creds, so he put the family chapel on the table. It was a weird weekend."

"I demand details," Max said. "I heard a bit from Wayne..something about Zee disrupting the Flash's family vacation?"

"No, we met the Flash at his highschool reunion. It was Green Arrow's family vacation," Ro said, wincing at the memory. She suspected the NSA agents would like to forget that weekend too.

**The bug-eye lens is the type of implant Batou of GITS has. It's like a compound eye, only with wide-spectrum vision. Jo's 'Grandpa' is John Constantine. Renee Montoya, formerly of the Gotham Police Department, is the current owner of the Question's costume, and has used it on a handful of occasions. **


	5. No error, no miss

**No own, no sue. Track: Blind-sided by Bon Iver. **

Ro decided that she really liked the built in glass-cutters. Thankfully, the noise from the other room drowned out the squeaking noise the glass made. She carefully cut out a small circle, reached through, and unlocked the window, pushed it open, and slid into the room. Terry followed, equally silent, and they edged toward the one lit room. They'd tracked the Venom channel to a six-story apartment building at the edge of the industrial district. More specifically, the ground floor.

She waved Terry to the front. He unclipped a flashbang and threw it into the biggest room. It flashed, and the four men in there yelped and covered their eyes. Terry launched himself into the room, going after the biggest one. Ro tripped up one thug, leapt over him and punched his friend. Terry grabbed the leader by his neck and lifted him off the ground.

"So, you're the scum making knock-off Venom? I take it you boys aren't from around here."

"I told you breaking into that superchick's apartment was a bad move," coughed one of the men on the ground.

"Shut up," hissed his friend. Ro brought a boot down on his hand.

"Could you be more specific?" she said sweetly.

"Her name's Shebang. We had to high-tail it outta Dakota; if she can take out a _tank _with just two people for back-up, we didn't have a chance," the first man said. "Please, I got a kid.."

"Shoulda thought of that before you started dealing," Ro said, carefully stepping behind the thugs. She jumped on the man's back, knelt, and cuffed him, repeating the process on his friend.

00

"Shebang's a Venom addict," Wayne said blankly. "I wasn't expecting that."

Ro stripped off her mask. She still couldn't get over the cave.

"I'd bet that's why there were so many hospitalizations," she said. "Talon told us that she had to customize anything she took. Shebang's a little more human, but not that much."

Zee looked up from his tablet. Stone and Max were curled up on chairs asleep. Stone had needed some classified data, otherwise he wouldn't have been here.

"Actually, Shebang's genetically engineered. She took advantage of the 'Bang Baby' phenomenon to pass herself off as a metahuman," Zee said. "She was originally intended to be a Marine, but her parents intervened."

"And how would you know this?" Wayne asked.

"She told me. We had quite a long chat in Dakota."

Ro raised an eyebrow. "No wonder you two seemed so cozy. She's your long-lost sister."

"No, a cousin. Aguila's one of my parents, so her adopted daughter would be my 'sister.'"

"What does that make me?" Ro asked, suddenly curious.

"I wish I knew," Zee said, lowering his gaze. "Similar to Hawk and Dove, I think. A partnership."

Not _quite _what she was hoping for, she thought. Not that the thing Hawk and Dove had wasn't awesome.

"Um,Ro?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

She leaned against Wayne's chair as the night caught up with her.

Zee scooped her up. "Just hang on..mind your head."

He managed to get them both through the Batcave's entrance as Wayne shut things down for the night and prodded Stone and Max awake. Terry had been dropped off at his house. Ro had been really annoyed that there was an automatic pilot on the car. Then again, considering what she felt like, she'd probably have driven the car into a skyscraper.

Still, something bothered her. Since when was Zee uncertain about anything?

00

Lee was unfortunate enough to be on desk duty when the duo walked in. She'd finished up her case yesterday. Except for Grayson, she was the only one in the office. She was finishing up her paperwork (why was it still called paperwork when there was no paper involved?) and pondering the latest message from Zeta.

She still hadn't decided whether it was code or a joke. What was little, black and yellow and flew at night? Unless it was some sort of bird she had no idea.

Both women were at the beginning of their sixties. The taller woman leaned over the desk. She had thick gray hair that was cropped very short. Her partner was smaller, hispanic, with braided salt and pepper hair, and she had a few scars; a slash near her eye, and a burn around her neck. It looked like a necklace; Lee tried and failed to imagine how a necklace could burn itself into flesh.

"Grayson here?" the white woman asked.

"I'm sorry, do you have an appointment?" she asked. "And I'm not the secretary.."

"No, I get it, you're a dectective. Well, detect this. Tell him that Katie Kane is here and she's got Robin-red-breast's number. I guarantee he'll see me."

"Katie.." her partner protested.

"No, Renee, I'm not going to calm down."

Lee delivered the message to Grayson. He turned pale and ordered Lee to show Ms. Kane in. Kane flashed a grim victory smile to her partner and vanished into the office. The other woman fumbled in her coat and produced a cigarette and lighter.

"We have a no-smoking policy," Lee said, reminded of Bennett's struggle to quit.

"What's a detective office _without _a haze of smoke?" the woman muttered bitterly. "I'm Renee Montoya, by the way._ That _was Katie Kane, my wife."

"Healthy. I'm surprised you still smoke. Doesn't do anything for your lungs."

"I think I stopped worrying about that after the first time I got bullets dug out of me."

"Were you a fed?"

"Beat cop, then a police dick. I run an agency out of Concord now."

"Where'd you work?"

"Gotham. Highest amount of freaks per capita."

"Hasn't changed a bit," Lee remarked.

"-Tell the old man I don't _care _what sob story the kid has, he had no fucking right to drag Beth into it..." came from Grayson's office. Montoya winced.

"What's that about?" Lee asked.

"Custody dispute. Bruce Wayne, Grayson's dad, took in another stray. Claims the kid's a Kane from Bludhaven and Katie's greatniece. Katie's got a sore spot a mile wide when it comes to her sister."

"How long has Miss Kane been in Wayne's custody?"

Montoya shrugged. "A couple of months, maybe. I heard she's sixteen. Nobody's saying squat, so I'm wonderin' if she ran with a gang. Or man trouble. I had a cred for every time I had a domestic.."

She broke off as Kane stormed out of Grayson's office.

"Renee, let's blow this joint. I got Wayne's contact info. Hope he hasn't changed it, he always was a cadgy old bat."

"Katie!" Montoya hissed as they left. Lee smiled to herself. This was the first challenge she'd had since she'd come here. Every instinct Lee had told her that the usual story wasn't playing out here. One part of her kept remembering that Batman had never said Ro was dead. Another part of her was filing away Kane's scathing descriptions of Wayne's ancestry, personal habits and personality.

_00_

"I haven't seen this part of the mansion before," Stone said, admiring the garden. "Bit..overgrown, isn't it?"  
"The gazebo's falling apart too," Ro agreed. "Steps are okay- I take Ace out here a lot."

"I'm glad it's deserted. Probably wired up the wazoo, but not bugged."  
"Huh?"

"I didn't really want a tour, just someplace where we could talk. I need to know if you're onboard with this project," he said, sitting down on the steps. Ro grabbed a pod off one of the plants and began to methodically rip it apart. The more enthusiastic Zee got about the project, the more frustrated she got. He didn't even care that the transfer could kill him.

"Zee wouldn't listen to me," she said, biting her lip. "He doesn't really need to change, he's just fine the way he is."

"You could scotch the whole thing if you wanted."

"Yeah..but I've never seen him so happy. I couldn't take that away."

"I'll be honest, I'm not sure this is going to go smoothly," Stone said, frowning into the distance. He flexed his hands and looked down at them. He had a lot of misgivings. He'd never liked the prosthetics that were necessary to keep him alive, and he found Zee's enthusiasm a bit worrying.

"I've made it clear that a prosthetic body _isn't _going to make him more human- he still can't have kids and even the high-end bodies can't process sensory input perfectly. I'm not sure it registered."

"I think it's just something that he and I are gonna have to disagree on," Ro said. "He's still being weird about the Batgirl thing. I think he'd take over from Terry if Mr. Wayne allowed it."

"I get that-he's just worried about you two. My wife and son are in the same line of business. I was in the Titans myself, even in the League for a while. I'm proud of them, yeah, but I know the risks."

"I thought you said people with prosthetic bodies couldn't have kids?" Ro asked.

Stone grinned. Sharp kid, no wonder Wayne liked her so much.

"I'm not fully prosthetic."

"Musta been some accident."

"Oh, it was."

"So what's your wife's code name?"

"Bumble Bee. My son's Stinger."

Ro muffled a giggle. "I'm sorry, but those are _terrible_ code names. They don't exactly inspire fear."

"Not until she lands right in the small of some villain's back," Stone said, shrugging. "Let's go. Max should've got the supplies by now. I'm gonna show you guys how to make ramen."

"I know that one-add a cup of water, stick it in the microwave."

"Oh, you poor deprived children. No, I meant _real _ramen."

00

Tonight was one of Ro's nights off. Unlike Terry, she wasn't out all night, every night.

She resented being given special treatment, even if it was just because she still needed some time to heal. After doing her homework, she checked her email.

Like Zee, she had several accounts, including one that Wayne set up for her. She found a cheery update from Hawk. Hawk and her partner Dove had only become superheroes last spring; they'd been training with the Justice Society since then. Like Ro and Terry, they weren't the first to have those names, but unlike the first Hawk and Dove set, they weren't siblings. They'd just been close friends since they were small.

Ro had to read the email twice. What sort of sick person would think that Bucky would make a good sidekick? He'd be a _terrible _hero. It didn't surprise her that he'd hacked the JSA once his mentor left the computer unguarded. She was mainly surprised that it'd taken him this long to figure out that she was still around.

She looked up the files on Wildcat, Cyclone and their kids. Poor kids. Puberty was bad enough without growing fur or accidentally blowing the house down with a sneeze. Despite the numerous failings of her own parents, at least they'd never worn spandex.

00

Tiffany Morgan was startled out of her sleep when the holophone rang. She thought it was unusual. After Ro's death, her dad had cracked down, and Tiffany limited calls to the house and her excursions outside. Not like there was any outside- small towns were the _worst. _She flicked a red curl out of the way before answering.

"Hello?"

"This is 'perfect Tiff' isn't it?" the boy on the line said. Tiff was sure she didn't know him. How old was this kid? Fourteen? Younger? He was deep tan and spoke with a slight western accent. His hair was as red as hers.

"Who are you and how do you know that nickname?" she snapped.

"I'm a friend of Ro's. My name's Bucky Buenaventura."

"Ro's _dead, _in case you didn't know."

"Don't tell me you actually bought that line of fertilizer," Bucky said, amused.

"I..what?"

"You heard me. No way Ro's dead. From what they told me, they never actually _found _her body."

"So what?"

"So..Zee'd never let anything happen to her. If she got hurt, he'd stash her away someplace safe. From the way the agents are runnin' around, it looks like he holed up somewhere and pulled the hole in after him."

"Why are you bugging me?"

"Aren't you a _little _curious about what happened to Ro? She lived with you for what, six years? Lotta memories there, lotta sisterly bonding."

"Ro's idea of sisterly bonding involved duct tape. But I would like to see her again. they ever find her brother?"

"Sure did. But he's under surveillance, same as you. Me, I'm a minor, so they can't do anything. Plus I got hook-ups like you've never seen."

"So what are your hook-ups telling you? Do you know where Ro is?"

He smiled mischieviously.

"I got a few ideas. There aren't a lot of people Zee would trust..not when it came to Ro, anyway."

"Any names?"

"Not over an open line, slaghead."

"Can it with the insults, twip."

"Look, here's how it's gonna be. I'm gonna send you an email. Click on that, and follow the instructions there. After that, we should be able to communicate freely. Keep an eye on the news from Gotham too."

"Why?"

"No reason."

00

Bucky clicked off, shaking his head. Why did he bother? Because he was pissed at being left out of the loop, that's why. The scolding from Batman he'd gotten also rankled. Of course he'd said yes to Reyes's offer. Super-high-tech space armor? Yeah, sign him up yesterday.

Where did Batman and Apache Chief get off? It wasn't like they were angels, and he didn't want to blow up the planet. A few asteroids, maybe..

He hadn't signed up just for the chance at being a hero. Reyes knew Batman and Batman knew everything, right? He'd certainly know where Ro'd been stashed. Bucky just couldn't accept that someone so gloriously alive could be dead. Sure, he liked Ro; it was just his habit to push the envelope. Ro was one of the few people who'd gotten the better of him.

He admired her..okay, who was he kidding? Ever since puberty had hit he couldn't get her out of his head. She might act dumb sometimes, and she had no patience, but she was quick-witted, cute, and could bring the pain with a vengeance. Bucky was only certain of one thing these days. Ro was alive, and he'd do whatever it took to find her.

**I'm including Katherine Kane from 52 and the 'new universe' because I can. Keep in mind, Bucky's thirteen. **


End file.
